BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY AUG. 5, 2018) — If you ever had any doubts about the rampant corruption that has become the once-great city of Pittsfield (pop. 38,000 and dropping), the inherent pressures of recent events have forced the slime to the surface and into the sun. Keep in mind that the following are only what’s surfaced without much digging. For each one that surfaces, there are ten in the queue. The bought-off people in-and-of power number in legions so many that the line resembles the cattle herding in front of Space Mountain at Disney World in March.

Donna Todd Rivers kicked off the recent opening of the vomitorium. She sold her vote on the $75 million sewer upgrade for a $100,000 a year (including bennies) fake job created by The Suits. Follow the money. Next up, one captain of integrity who pocketed a lifetime of glory.

C’mon down, Van Shields. A creeper Van like that keeps the windows tinted, with good reason. THE PLANET speaks of the retiring, and tiring, soon-to-be-gone director of the Berkshire Museum. Shields, with great help from the museum board, ran the once-venerable institution into a tarpits of debt, then masterminded the sale of institution’s best works to pocket for the museum $47 million. He calls it “monetization.” We call it malfeasance. The art- and museum-worlds universally and internationally condemned the sale at auction of the works, including two of Norman Rockwell’s most famous paintings, and citizens created an uproar so loud even what passes for the Commonwealth’s attorney general stepped in. Maura Healey first took The People’s side but then, after a series of mysterious and secret meetings, abruptly changed diapers and gave the museum her blessings.

When contacted, Shields ($138,571 a year plus bennies) refused to speak to the press about his sudden exit. He told Larry Parnass of the The Boring Broadsheet, “The news release speaks for itself, and that’s all I want to say.” We don’t know if Parnass pressed, as we would have, but the translation of Shields cowardly statement is roughly: “I got mine, and f— y’all.”

Carol Bosco Baumann, who has the embarrassing and loathsome job of museum spokeswoman, refused to disclose Shields’ “retirement package.” THE PLANET‘s educated guess will be a bunch of money that will run into six figures. One museum source, who spoke to THE PLANET on condition of anonymity, said it was “well north of half a million.” Naturally, we couldn’t officially confirm that total.

Next up, Pittsfield developer Jeff Pierce and ex-Greylock Federal Credit Union VP Mike DiCenzo. “Pittsfield developer … Greylock Credit Union…” — stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Pierce admitted in federal court to conspiracy. The U.S. attorney’s office won conviction of Pierce’s “work” with DiCenzo when the latter was safely ensconced at Greylock. Yes, that’s the same Greylock of “Tell ’em” Angelo sent you” Stracuzzi and Cliffy Nilan. Yes, the same Greylock where John Bissell is prez.

Here was the scheme. DiCenzo approved $4 million in loans, far in excess of Pierce’s ability to repay. In return, Pierce set up DiCenzo with a fake company, sent him $134,733 for “work” that was not done, built him a house, and provided him with a free car, all with money from the loan. We thank the stars that the U.S. Attorney handled this case. What do you think would have happened if the courts left the jurisdiction local?

‘Nuff Ced.

What Rivers and Shields did was “legal.” That’s its own punchline. What Pierce and DiCenzo did was legally fraudulent. But these types of Perry Mason distinctions are meaningless. In Pittsfield, legally corrupt and morally corrupt stand as two different things without distinctions.

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“It is human nature to stand in the middle of a thing” — Marianne Moore

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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91 Responses to “LEGAL AND MORAL CORRUPTION HAVE NO DISTINCTIONS IN THE RANCID CITY OF PITTSFIELD”

Is the museum a non profit and if so should all their finances be public info? Also is their a list of people who were backing Sheilds selling the art? Think I heard Ruberto was one of them. And if the museum keeps this type of thing secret why would anyone want to donate to their cause?

River to gave 400 k to the museum for climate control,I want the money back.Then a bunch of 1% type showed up at council meetings for Hancock Shaker Village and we sent 400 k for administration building remodel and once approved they repurpose the money,Pittsi is a crooked town……400 student on toxic swamp

Why does the BB not report on Candidate Andrea Harrington’s many, many Office of Campaign Finance violations, her lowly 2k/annual earnings as an independent contractor to a Springfield firm — not “of counsel” or a real working lawyer — her back owed taxes in Richmond and the lien on her house? When I tried to post this information and offer documentation in a facebook forum supposedly looking out for the interests of people in Pittsfield I was accused of “hate speech” and blocked. Then, to top it off, the block was liked by none other than John Krol. Who can we count on to let the people know the truth?

Crime will increase under Andrea Harrington because she will be “easy” on criminals especially on the 25 and under set since their brain development isn’t complete yet. Sounds like nonsense to me since they can still tell the difference between right and wrong. Typical liberal attitude of “Let’s feel sorry for the criminals”.

To-day we learnt the 3rd Berkshire district state representative, TFB, tried, unsuccessfully, to bribe Berkshire district attorney candidate Judith Knight wth a job as First Asst. DA if she were to withdraw from the contest and toss her support over to Berkshire district attorney candidate Andrea “crazy lady” Harrington.

You’ll want to follow “Brain Marquis” public posts on facebook to see the entire list of documents. The 2017 State Ethics filing for income is here: https://www.sfi.eth.state.ma.us/Public/PublicHomePage.aspx and the land records at http://masslandreconds.com/. You can research all candidates audits at https://www.ocpf.us/ Of note, DA Caccaviello does not have audit reprimands. It’s also worth looking into each candidate’s campaign contributions and the % that come from outside the county. I appreciate this space for allowing true free discussion.

Wow, this is seriously bizarre. Mr. Marquis, on your own Facebook account you post a screenshot of the TWO audit letters addressed to the Caccaviello campaign to which Mr. Clairmont refers, which letters address FOUR issues in total. They are right there for viewing, and come directly from the OCPF. All you have to do is click the link.

For Caccaviello, the issues cited were: “Contributions from prohibited entities”; “Cash contributions in excess of $50”; “Multiple contributors reported for a single receipts”; and a question regarding “Credit card fees reported”.

Andrea Harrington has received three such letters pertaining to her current campaign, which cite three problems: “Cash contributions in excess of $50”; “Missing/Incomplete deposit reports”; and “Clarify expenditure information”.

For both Caccaviello and Harrington, the issues raised in these letters are trivial. They are the result of a byzantine campaign finance process, in which mistakes are invariably made. Both campaigns have resolved the issues at hand as they have arisen, because they are the result of bookkeeping errors and the like, not serious malfeasance. They are more a reflection of an out of control bureaucracy than bad actions on the part of either candidate.

Most of your Facebook feed consists of ad hominem’s and insults, including talk of partner swapping between Harrington, her husband and her closest supporters. Pretty vile stuff. You also took Ms. Harrington to task for not taking her husband’s name, unlike Mrs. Caccaviello and Mrs. Capeless, which is pretty entertaining stuff given that DA Capeless’s wife most certainly did not take his name.

All told, you say too many bizarre and offensive things to go through them all here. But here are a few of the funnier corrections I have for you. First, a number of my attorney friends who are “of counsel” to various law firms are going be surprised to learn that they are no longer legitimate, practicing, paid attorneys. Sir, you are very confused.

Second, I am particularly amused by your confusion over what a Municipal Lien Certificate is (and no, it is not a Mechanical Lien Certificate, lol), and your assertion that the existence of one points to something nefarious going on. An MLC is almost always requested by a homeowner who is refinancing, selling, or something along those lines. They are meant to demonstrate to the parties involved that there are no liens on the property, as Harrington’s did.

I’m sure the handful of people who “like” your Facebook screeds will be disappointed, but it would be wise of you to better inform yourself before making such posts.

The fact remains that a Lein does exist; we can both agree on that. And the Lein, whichever, was levied for non-payment of local taxes. Period. Am I guessing you’re the only one here to dispute documents extracted from original Web sites?

“Of counsel” is defined as a lawyer who is not associated with, employed by, nor a partner to a law firm. Period. You can consult how many lawyers you chose but the fact remains – as is. To your point about other lawyers: yes many good, prominent lawyer seek out ‘of counsel’ status following many years in real practice. Exceptions to this rule are usu. small local municipal lawyers who are probably part-time but of counsel to a local law firm. One comes immediately to mind: Pittsfield’s city attorney Rich Dohoney. Rich is of counsel to DOC attys along with his primary job of city attorney. Has he ever been associated, employed, by law firm: Yes, he has!!

Now, is Rich Dohoney qualified to run as a candidate for district attorney? Yes, he is. Over his years Rich has earned himself an impressive record of legal accomplishments. More so than what’s in the contest now pretending to be a lawyer, Andrea Harrington. Ms. Harrington is a substandard lawyer who clings to ‘of counsel’ status because she can’t make it as a sole practitioner. That’s of course to her State Ethics filings. Who leaves a $20,001 to 40,000 private practice in GB to take an of counsel position in Springfield for $20,001 to 40,000? Would you? Probably not.

In the end, Mechanic or Municipal Lein, it’s a document attached to real property because its owners failed to pay their taxes. Spin it any way you choose, but that’s a fact. And this doesn’t include Ms. Harrington’s 20,000 indebtedness to the I . R. S.

In fact, when Ms. Harrington entered this contest her campaign was $8,000 in debt. Imagine that: of counsel, campaign in debt, Municipal Lein levied in lieu of nonpayment of property taxes, and an IRS tax obligation.

Again, spin this away you choose but those are the facts.

Oh, here’s another one to further spin, Ms. Harrington has earned two such “Letters” from the OCPF, DA Caccaveillo has earned none! Those also are the facts.

Any way you slice it, sir, your candidate is substandard; she doesn’t belong in this contest. In case you haven’t heard, Ms. Harrington sent out Tricia Farley-Bouvier to offer Judy Knight a First Dist. Atty. a job is she withdrew from the contest and tossed her support to Ms. Harringon.

Another good one, say hello to Lucas Jackson for me; I am sorry, I meant John “wannabe DA spokesman” Krol.

For heaven’s sake, please go to Google and type in “of counsel aba”. You will find a clear explanation of what it means to be “of counsel”, provided by the American Bar Association. Not the jumbled mess you present above. Don’t believe me, believe them. Of counsel lawyers most certainly are “employed” AND “associated” with the firms for whom they work. They just aren’t partners (i.e. owners) of the firms. Can’t dumb it down any more than that, sorry.

Also, please, please look up what a Municipal Lien Certificate is, why one is produced, and at whose request. Or try another approach. Have you ever heard of a lien search, which is a standard part of ANY real property transaction, be it a sale, refinancing, property transfer, etc.?

Anyway, I m not here to educate you, so you can take it or leave it. But in regards to the Harrington MLC that you consider to be such smoking gun, here’s what the doc actually shows.

1. In January 2012, Harrington or her bank requested the MLC to confirm there were no liens on the property, as a STANDARD STEP in a refinancing, or transfer, etc. (not really our business, now, is it?).

2. The MLC produced showed that there were ZERO outstanding Liens on the property at issue. Your conclusion otherwise is based on ignorance.

3. Regarding the tax issue, you are hopelessly lost. The fiscal year for the Town of Richmond ends June 30. So FY 2012 covered from July 1, 2011 to July 30, 2012.

The date of the MLC was January 27, 2012, or a little more than half-way through FY 2012. Looking at the taxes paid info, Harrington had paid a little more than half her tax bill for the year by that point, which makes perfect sense given that most towns allow residents to pay their taxes quarterly.

Another way of saying that is that a mid-fiscal-year MLC for ANYONE would show a similar tax liability, unless that person chose to pay their full tax bill in advance, at the beginning of the year. Which would definitely not be recommended by many financial advisors.

Google all you choose, sir. My definition of “of counsel” is extracted from Westlaw.com. A CALR site with up-to-date, reliable legal data; including legal definitions of concern.

I’m the end, your candidate AH is incomplete, inexperienced, and a substandard lawyer. I did my research on your candidate; my opinion is based on that research.

Good luck on September 4th.

Oh, by the way, I’m told the Mass. State Ethics Commission has received a complaint against Rep. Tricia Farey-Boucior. Bribing a political candidate to drop out and support another (AH) is considered a no-no in Massachusetts politics. Oh, I’m also told the Boston Gloce is in possession of said complaint.

Not only is your DA candidate incompetence, but she’s a underhanded, inadequate campaign tacticianer.

You did not address a single one of my substantive corrections. I assume the matter is settled, then.

As for the ethics complaint, I would be willing to wager that it was filed by a man with the initials BCM, since literally anybody can file such a complaint on the Mass.gov website. I also assume that the identity of the complainant would be discoverable if the complaint was ever taken seriously. BCM may have his day in the sun after all!

Harrington seems nice and I would not vote for this rookie in a million years.Her first move to get votes in my ward is to show herself with Marchetti and Kroll who have a long record of not respect people who are struggling to pay taxes…..No Thanks….next she will wander around with Mayor Tyer and the head of School budgets Yon.

Is it too much to ask a mayor and councilor to acknowledge the city is below 40,000 in population and projected by all statistics to be at 33,000 soon.There are 1600 high school students at the high end and closer to 1400 on the low side and we just spent 125 million to house 800.This is why we are the worst run City in the country.

Harrington’s financial situation may be questionable. However, her stand on 1) the DA’s office needs “diversity” and 2) the DA must go easy on criminals under 23 because of their immature brains is troubling, to say the least!

I’m a liberal but most of the high crimes in Pittsfield are committed you read tha a 23 year old is on his 4th serious offence and even those are plead down to lesser crimes.Harrington is nice but extremely nieve.Most people want serious crime 3rd and 4th offense dealt with seriously.The public also knows that the juvenal crimes were hidden .When you live in Richmond its not as important as it is to someone who lives on 2nd street.
Also could the mayor turn up streetlights in the morningside streets and trim tree limbs ,we are begging you

Shortly we will be asked by Educators who cant add to Remodel PHS for 80 million.Usind the logic of the Taconic project it is cheaper to build a new high school and of course that cant happen so they built Taconic to small purposely…..Crosby will play a role in special ed because its the worst building in Pittsfield if you deny The chemical swamp under Allendale. The least Yon McCandless Tyer along with enviromental councilors Kroll,Moon Caccamo, White is be honest about testing air quality and ground testing on the School website every week.

Why cant Mayor Tyer stop raising taxes.Shs needs a 2 do list.Write 10 things down you want the schools to do to consolidate ,save money,and put students in safe environments and get it all out the in 30 days.Shes the fn boss and poor people need her to get this done.On the other hand she may not care.
Whit that savings she needs to go to the police and tell them we want to have a all out war on gangsters which in turn will make for great schools.She will be the greatest mayor in the history of this city or she will stay vanilla and r years after she leaves nobody will remember her name.

I t may take her all 4 years to pay back all the donors. Stanley got his again and let’s hope she is done greasing his palm. But I am sure there are still a few with there halloween bags held open so I do not expect to see taxes go down at all.

Some people get upset at those receiving food stamps or section 8. I get upset when politicians grease each others palms with taxpayers hard earned money. Especially when they do not need it anywhere near as much as the person on food stamps.

And so one more reason I do not vote for machine candidates who work together to suck the public dry

Unlike everyone on this board I am not afraid to go downtown .North Street is a very busy pedestrian heavy high energy street.The morningside neighborhood is to be avoided after dark by the general public.School budgets are contributing to crime.Yon,McCandless and Marchetti

Why doesn’t the PPD use the oldtaconic? And the Bianchii hotel on north, what’sgoing on? Taconic could house several entities? close Hibbard, Mercer, Crosby and Allendales dump in the back.. Cut all departments 7 percent. Anyone catch the numbers guy at o and r,is he worth it’? Gaetani for Mayor.

Tricia Bouvier will be at the Taconic opening ,I’m guessing she will shake hands with students on the way in and tell Seniors that she has not brought 1 job to the Berkshires but supported the Muesuem selling a Norman Rockwell original.

Actually I thought even an A-student like yourself would want to know how inexperienced and incompetent Andrea Harrington is. I would have thought the Machine to find a more suitable, experienced candidate. But what does a C-student like myself know.

And I didn’t make Ms. Harrington; Ms. Harrington made herself.

Listen, if you think she’s best suited to be DA than our incumbent DA, than by all means cast your ballot accordingly.

I didn’t encourage Ms. Harrington to crash a sheriff’s picnic to malign State Police investigators (the very same cops who come from the DA’s office) and lob insults at a former DA. And I didn’t dispatch TFB to offer a bribe to Judy Knight in exchange for a future job if she withdraws from the DA contest and tosses her support over to Ms. Harrington.

And DA Caccaviello’s supporters don’t hide behind or assume cartoon-like identities. We are accountable, and up front & personal. Unlike the Harrington shipwreck. You know my name; but a few posters here have chosen to assume cartoon-like character names designed to conceal their true identities. Right or wrong, I am who I am.